Fall
Part 2: Fall
God planted the Garden of Eden, which is where Adam and Eve lived (Gn. 2:8). He gave them one rule to follow while they lived there: do not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gn. 2:16-17).
Following the rule given to Adam and Eve in Genesis 2, we are introduced to the concept of the fall and its repercussions. Genesis 3 is where the first recording of humanity’s exposure to sin is found. Remember, sin existed in the garden before Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. We see how it was used when the serpent manipulated Adam and Eve, leading them to become sinful like him. Despite the rule being made and the love they had for God, Eve and Adam ate from the one tree God told them not to.
Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings (Genesis 3:1-7, NASB).
Removing Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden was not a punishment but rather an act of mercy. If He had not stepped in and removed their access to this tree, they could have committed themselves to a longer life of torture and sin because they were now part of the fallen world.
We must remember that God created us with dignity, value, worth, and love to worship Him; however, in our sinful nature, we decided to defy Him. Adam and Eve sinned in the garden by transitioning from desiring to be like God to desiring to become their own God. The sin was not eating fruit but rather their pride, defiance, and coveting God’s knowledge. Because Adam and Eve did this, they were removed from the Garden of Eden and sin began being passed down through the generations, and now, anyone who is born has a sinful nature. This is known as original sin.
Humans possess the knowledge of morality and the ability to choose between right and wrong, but our decisions will always be bent toward sin because of original sin. Morality cannot save us.
All sin is treason against God. The punishment for treason is death. Write down Romans 6:23 in your favorite translation.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23, NIV).
Consequences of our sin:
For the serpent: Genesis 3:14-15 (AMP)
14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all the cattle,
And more than any animal of the field;
On your belly, you shall go,
And dust you shall eat
All the days of your life.
15 “And I will put enmity (open hostility)
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed (offspring) and her Seed;
He shall [fatally] bruise your head,
And you shall [only] bruise His heel.”
For Eve: Genesis 3:16 (AMP)
To the woman He said,
“I will greatly multiply
Your pain in childbirth;
In pain you will give birth to children;
Yet your desire and longing will be for your husband,
And he will rule [with authority] over you and be responsible for you.”
For Adam: Genesis 3:17-19 (AMP)
17 Then to Adam the Lord God said,
“Because you have listened [attentively] to the voice of your wife,
and have eaten [fruit] from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’;
The ground is [now] under a curse because of you;
In sorrow and toil, you shall eat [the fruit] of it
All the days of your life.
18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 “By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread
Until you return to the ground,
For from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”
As a result of sin, we are separated from God with the consequence of death.
Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear" (ESV).
Immediately after telling Adam and Eve what the consequences of their transgressions would be, God made the first sacrifice to atone for their sin.
“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them (Genesis 3:21, NIV).” This shows us the grace and mercy God has toward His creation, even after this treasonous behavior.
Memorize Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Within the Tabernacle, a veil existed to separate humanity from the Holy Spirit because of sin. Historically, sacrificing animals was the practice to seek forgiveness, as death was the punishment for treason, and bloodshed was necessary for atonement. However, this was insufficient. For human sin, a sacrifice that was pure and sinless, created in the image and likeness of God, and filled with His breath was required. The Old Testament demonstrates our inability to do this on our own. Within the Tabernacle, a veil existed to separate humanity from the Holy Spirit because of sin. Historically, sacrificing animals was the practice to seek forgiveness, as death was the punishment for treason and bloodshed was necessary for atonement. However, this was insufficient. Remember: humans were lovingly made to reflect God's image and likeness, and He even breathed life into us. For human sin, a sacrifice that was pure and sinless, created in the image and likeness of God, and filled with His breath was required. The Old Testament demonstrates our inability to do this on our own.
For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool. Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.” And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship. In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.
That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.
For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf (Hebrews 9:19–24, NLT).
